My wife and I are going through our second move in about seven months, so bear with me this week. I definitely don’t suggest buying two houses in the same year. We have learned our lesson, but we can’t pass on a good opportunity.
The month of April has come and gone, and the PGA Tour has made its way into May. I was looking at a couple golf websites this past week and realized The Ryder Cup is less than five months away. It’s never too early to start talking about the best event in golf. There is no other event in the sport that displays so much passion and winning desire. I’m not sure I can wait until September for the 36th playing of the Ryder Cup.
I checked out the latest Ryder Cup standings, and a few things caught my attention on the American side. A few golfers in the top-10 standings jumped out at me. At the same time, there were some very solid golfers on the outside looking in. I’m going to break down the current standings and offer some insight for the golfers sitting outside the top 10. Also, keep in mind this was written last Friday, so things may have slightly changed since then.
Top Dogs
Tiger Woods is on top of the list as usual, and that’s never a bad thing. Tiger’s record in past Ryder Cups isn’t anything worth mentioning, but it’s still nice to have the greatest golfer in the world on the top of the list. It will be very interesting to see if Tom Lehman pairs Tiger with Jim Furyk in the fourball and foursome matches at the K Club this year. The two had a lot of success at the 2005 Presidents Cup. And no, we don’t want to see Tiger paired with Phil… ever!
Speaking of Phil, he is ranked second in the current U.S. standings. The remainder of the top five includes David Toms, Chad Campbell, and Jim Furyk. The top five looks very solid, and they have all but wrapped up their place on the squad.
Davis Love III and Fred Couples currently rank sixth and seventh, respectively. Both Love and Couples have had their shining moments over the past couple years. On the other hand, they have both had their fair share of disappointments as well. Nonetheless, they are both veterans to the Ryder Cup and both have great records in the event. I would definitely take them on my team any day.
The Surprises
The first seven golfers in the standings are all household names, but then it gets a little foggy. Vaughn Taylor is ranked eighth, Zach Johnson ninth, and Aaron Oberholser tenth. If the standings hold up like this, which isn’t likely, each of these three golfers would be making their Ryder Cup debut this September. As a fan of the Yank side, that’s a little scary.
I’m a fan of Zach Johnson, and I feel he was unjustly left off the Presidents Cup team last year. Also, he played exceptionally well at this year’s Accenture Match Play Championship, finishing in third place. Johnson hits the ball in the fairway and is solid all the way around. It doesn’t hurt that he is playing good golf right now. I’d like to see Zach Johnson stick it out and make the team.
I don’t know much about Vaughn Taylor, but he has played very well the past year or two. However, his only two wins have come in the Reno-Tahoe Open. That isn’t exactly proving yourself against the best possible competition. Nonetheless, two wins is pretty awesome any way you slice it. Taylor might be in a little over his head in the Ryder Cup, but then again, the entire U.S. team was in 2004. What would it hurt?
Aaron Oberholser has put himself into contention on numerous occasions in 2006. Oberholser picked up his first-career PGA Tour victory earlier this year at Pebble Beach. He is talented enough to play in the Ryder Cup, but his play under pressure worries me greatly. I remember Oberholser best for his collapse at Sawgrass earlier this year (74-81 on the weekend). He is very emotional though, and that goes a long way in the Ryder Cup. I’m still on the fence as far as Oberholser goes, so I’ll just wait and see how it all plays out.
On the Outside Looking In
As we all know, the top-10 golfers in the Ryder Cup standings are assured a spot in the matches. Then it comes down to the captain’s selections, and who knows what Tom Lehman has up his sleeve when it comes to that? Hell, Lehman may even select himself to be on the team. The captain is currently sitting 15th in the standings. I don’t support that one bit though, and I’ve already discussed that in a past edition of Thrash Talk.
If the selections had to be made today, I would imagine Scott Verplank and Chris DiMarco would get the nod. They are currently 11th and 13th, respectively. Both are solid picks, but they should also be higher on the list. That just shows they aren’t playing well enough.
That is shocking because Verplank has played his best golf the past two or three seasons. I expected him to be in the top 10 for sure. DiMarco has struggled in PGA Tour events, but he is great in match-play situations. It will be tough to leave both of these guys off, and hopefully they will play well enough to jump back into the top 10 by the time the PGA Championship is in the books.
Other golfers in the 10-20 rankings include Jerry Kelly (12th), Lucas Glover (14th), Billy Mayfair (16th), Kirk Triplett (17th), J.J. Henry (18th), J.B. Holmes (19th), and Jonathan Byrd (20th). It would be cool to see a big bomber and young gun like Holmes make the team, but he needs to get things going a lot faster to make that a possibility. All the other guys listed above don’t really appeal to me much.
Where Have You Gone?
As I look down the rest of the list, a few names really jump out at me. Stewart Cink is ranked 23rd, Justin Leonard 26th, and Kenny Perry 31st. I know Perry has had health problems, but I still expected him to be ranked higher than that. As for Cink and Leonard, there are no excuses good enough. Both of these guys should be playing better.
Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank made a very formidable team at the Presidents Cup last year, and it would be nice to see them playing alongside each other again at this year’s Ryder Cup. A lot of crazy things have to happen to make that a reality. Cink, Leonard, and Perry will have to get things going in a hurry to make the Ryder Cup team this time around. Maybe the U.S. team will be better off without them. That remains to be seen.
Final Say
A lot of things can change in the next five months, but as of right now, the American team is weaker than they were in 2004. That’s not a good sign whatsoever. And I could easily be wrong in that assumption. I thought the U.S. side was far superior to the European side two years ago, and I was sadly mistaken after a record-setting performance from our rivals across the pond.
The list will surely change a little, and I’ll be watching the standings like a hawk until the PGA Championship is over. Also, I’ll be sure to write an article on the European side as well to let you all know how I feel about their chances at this time. I just know I wouldn’t be betting much on the United States team if the Ryder Cup started tomorrow.
That’s all I have to say this week, so tell me what you think. Do you think the current outlook is good for the United States team? Also, will Verplank, DiMarco, Leonard, etc. make a move into the top 10 before selections are made? Finally, which golfers would you like to see included on this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team? If you have anything to add, feel free to comment below or discuss it in our forum. Thanks for reading this week and be on the look-out for the European Ryder Cup discussion!
Photo Credits: © Condon/PGA Tour/WireImage, © Bill Haber, AP.
Once both Ryder Cup team members have been selected, how or what is the procedure for selecting who plays whom. How soon are rosters submitted? Are they done blind? Can one team match a player against another? How does all this happen?